Elizabeth Aller has been going to the Trojan Farmers Market since her freshman year. Three years have passed and Aller has seen the market change and said it feels smaller.

“It used to be way more full when we were freshmen,” said Aller, a senior majoring in sociology. 

Beyond seeing fewer students and vendors at the market, Aller said she has also noticed prices getting more expensive and a shrinking selection of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The Trojan Farmers Market takes place every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at McCarthy Quad, where vendors sell prepared foods, produce, drinks, jewelry and other products. Aller isn’t the only longtime Farmers Market attendee who has noticed a change.

“There’s less vendors now than there were before,” said Zina Lee, owner of ZYL Jewelry and a USC alum. “There used to be way more at this market.”

Lee said she has sold jewelry at the Trojan Farmers Market for several years and has enjoyed returning throughout. 

While Aller and Lee said the market appears smaller, USC Hospitality said the overall number of vendors has remained relatively stable.

The market has around 20vendors this semester, about the same as last year, said Erika Chesley, senior associate director of Hospitality programs and projects at USC Hospitality. Chesley said the number of hot-food vendors has remained consistent, but the number of farmers participating has decreased. 

According to Chelsey, three farmers currently vend at the Trojan Farmers Market, which is lower than previous years.

“If people are not purchasing at the levels to make it sustainable for farmers to continue coming, then they drop out,” Chesley said.

Bonanza Farms, a farm based in San Bernardino, has sold produce and fresh juices at the Farmers Market for eight years. Katherine Aranda, an employee at the booth, said students at USC tend to buy fewer whole fruits than customers at other markets.

“I think the major thing we only sell, really, is the juices because [students] like something easy and on the go,” Aranda said. “They can drink [it] throughout the day.”

Passion fruit, orange and pomegranate juice are particularly popular when they are in season, Aranda said. The popularity of the juices is what kept Bonanza Farms returning to USC throughout the years, according to Aranda.

The market also added a new vendor this year, which sells prepackaged sauces, including marinara, pesto and mac and cheese sauce, Chesley said.

California Certified Farmers Market handles inquiries from interested businesses and provides USC with a list of potential vendors, Chesley said. Vendors generally receive permits for the entire school year, meaning the lineup changes very little throughout the year. 

Valentina Looz, a freshman majoring in psychology, said she visited the Trojan Farmers Market twice and returned to the same Thai cuisine stand both times. 

“I love it,” Looz said. “They have amazing pad thai shrimp, and today I got the mango sticky rice.”

The Trojan Farmers Market accepts Electronic Benefit Transfer, which Chesley said is available to anyone who visits the market. USC also promotes the option through Student Basic Needs.

Bella Biane, a graduate student studying urban planning at the Price School of Public Policy, first visited the Trojan Farmers Market a few weeks ago after walking through it following a meeting. Bian said she tried a Spam musubi stand during her first visit and returned this week to try the tamales after her advisor recommended them. 

“I’m really excited to try the other stands,” Biane said. “It seems like they’re regularly here, so I’m excited to try them all at some point.”

For some longtime vendors, returning to the Trojan Farmers Market is about more than sales. Christopher Han, owner of Vania’s Gogo Foods, said he has been vending at the Trojan Farmers Market for about four years, selling onigiri and sauces.

“The students, I love them,” Han said. “Every time I encounter them and talk to them, I’m very hopeful for this world because I know that they’re going to run it soon.”